This answer courtesy of Kurt Bachmann, professor of physics at
Birmingham-Southern College in Birmingham, Alabama.

You are probably asking whether it is possible to control nuclear
fusion for the peaceful generation of energy. I hold the opinion that
fusion energy will be a reality someday, but unfortunately, scientists
and engineers have yet to be successful even after decades of effort.

The big problem with nuclear fusion is confinement. The fusion
process requires highly energetic hydrogen nuclei to collide, but a
terrestrial (Earth-based) plasma of such nuclei will quickly expand
and cool until there is no longer enough energy to keep fusion events
going. We know that the Sun generates its energy from nuclear fusion,
but in this case the Sun's huge mass and the force of its gravity are
the confining mechanisms.

The United States has produced fusion energy in an uncontrolled manner
via explosion of hydrogen bombs. These weapons are actually half
fusion and half fission, and they produce several megatons of energy
in seconds - hardly a method for consumer power generation!

Most of the effort in generating energy through controlled fusion
reactions has centered around using magnetic fields to confine the
plasma. Maybe this method will work someday. Maybe there is a better
way. In any event it will take new ideas, a new research framework,
and new financial support before success is possible. Perhaps yours
will be the first generation to harness fusion power!